What is yacht escrow?

In a yacht sale, escrow means the buyer’s money is held by a neutral third party instead of going straight to the seller. It moves only when the terms of the sale agreement are met, so neither side has to hand over the money or the vessel on trust.

SeaPay® Escrow does this for the sale of yachts and transport vessels.

It is one of SeaPay’s services for superyachts and megayachts, alongside crew payroll and compliance, provisioning, legal support and insurance. They are for owners, family offices, captains and management companies, from the day you buy the yacht to the day you sell it.

How does yacht escrow work?

SeaPay® Escrow follows five steps, from agreeing the terms to releasing or returning the funds, with clear, regular updates throughout.

• Agree the terms. Buyer and seller agree the price and the inspection period.
• Deposit. The buyer deposits the funds into the SeaPay® Escrow account.
• Inspection. With the funds secured, the seller hands the vessel over for inspection.
• Release. If the vessel meets the conditions, the buyer tells SeaPay and the funds go to the seller.
• Or return. If it doesn’t, once the seller has the vessel back, the funds return to the buyer.

Yacht sale escrow and the MYBA 10% deposit

MYBA, the Worldwide Yachting Association, has a specimen Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for buying and selling a yacht on its website, dated February 2005. It sets out who holds the deposit and when it moves.

The agreement you sign may be a later edition or carry special conditions, and the form warns that changing any printed term can affect the rest. Because the MOA names the stakeholder, decide who will hold the deposit before it is signed.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Ask your lawyer or broker about your own agreement.

In outline, the specimen says:

• Stakeholder. The stakeholder holds the deposit on behalf of both seller and buyer. The printed form names the first broker as stakeholder, and has a separate signature line for a stakeholder who is not that broker.
• Deposit. Within four banking days of signing, the buyer pays 10% of the sales price to the stakeholder. Any interest is credited to the buyer.
• Sea trial. The seller makes the yacht available, at its own expense, for a sea trial of up to four hours. If the buyer isn’t satisfied, they can reject the yacht in writing within 24 hours of the trial, or before it goes ashore for the survey if that comes first. The buyer’s costs for the trial are then paid from the deposit, and the rest goes back to the buyer.
• Condition survey. The buyer can have the yacht surveyed at their own cost. If a marine surveyor certifies in writing defects that were not disclosed before signing and that affect the yacht’s operational integrity or make it unseaworthy, the buyer has seven days from the survey to ask for repairs or a lower price, or to reject the yacht. If seller and buyer can’t agree the repairs or the price within a further seven days, the agreement ends.
• Acceptance. Unless the buyer has rejected it, the yacht is treated as accepted on the eighth day after the survey is completed.
• Return. After a rejection, the buyer makes good any damage they caused during the trial or survey, and returns the yacht to the port where it was lying. The stakeholder then returns the deposit, with any interest, less the costs of the trial and survey.
• Completion. On or before the completion date, the deposit is released and the buyer pays the balance by bank transfer to the account the seller names, as the yacht is delivered in exchange for the sale documents.
• Default. If the seller fails to deliver the yacht and its documents, the deposit goes back to the buyer with any interest. If the buyer fails to pay the balance by the completion date, the seller can cancel, and the deposit, less any outstanding trial and survey costs, is shared equally between the seller and the brokers as agreed damages.
• Law and disputes. The form is governed by English law, with disputes referred to arbitration in London. Once the stakeholder is notified of arbitration, it may deal with the money only with both parties’ agreement or as the arbitrators order.

Who holds the funds in a yacht escrow?

Under a MYBA MOA, the stakeholder named in the agreement holds the deposit on behalf of both seller and buyer, and releases or returns it as the agreement says.

With SeaPay® Escrow, the buyer deposits the funds into the SeaPay® Escrow account, a UK-based escrow account. A secure, neutral third party holds the funds until every term of the sale agreement is met. Then they are released to the seller or, if the vessel doesn’t meet the conditions, returned to the buyer once the seller has the vessel back.

Why use an escrow service for a boat or yacht sale?

Paying before the inspection puts the risk on the buyer. Handing the vessel over before the money is secured puts it on the seller. Escrow holds the money in the middle until the agreed conditions are met.

Escrow protects the money, not the vessel. The sea trial, the survey and the checks on title, debts and liens still matter. Under the MYBA form, for example, the seller warrants that the yacht will be delivered free of all debts, claims, liens and encumbrances.

What SeaPay® Escrow brings:

• Security: funds held in a UK-based escrow account until every term is fulfilled.
• Transparency: clear, regular updates throughout the transaction.
• Efficiency: an experienced team that shortens the time to completion.
• Compliance: every transaction aligned with UK and international law.

How to set up a yacht escrow with SeaPay

Talk to your manager. Your personal manager is the fastest way to start, and to answer questions along the way.

No manager yet? Send us a message on the contact page and choose Escrow as the topic, call +44 203 807 0720 or email info@seapay.me. Support answers from 09:00 to 17:00 CET.

Every escrow starts the same way: buyer and seller agree the price and the inspection period.

Sources

Last reviewed 13 October 2026 · SeaPay